Miyamoto’s Phone Might Look Like This

Time was, there was a rumour that Shigeru Miyamoto didn’t even own a mobile phone. That may’ve been true once but the creator of Mario does carry one now. Based on the description in the Wall Street Journal article mentioned earlier today, it could look very much like the one pictured above. Miyamoto talked about the topic of smartphone and table gaming and his remarks reveal some weird cognitive dissonance about how he sees the handheld market:

Another thing he says Nintendo isn’t behind on: mobile games. While games like Angry Birds for smartphones and tablets may be all the rage, Miyamoto said Nintendo isn’t going to make its software available for download on those devices.

Why? He prefers buttons and a physical connection to the game.

“Videogames are all about experiences: how you feel and how you experience that particular video game software application,” Miyamoto said, noting that with the company’s new Zelda game, customers have to move their controllers as if they were slicing with a real sword and blocking with a real shield. “In order to realise the maximum and unique experiences, we fine-tune it and stick to the details.”

That preference for physical experiences extends to Miyamoto’s taste for smartphones. He said that he would buy a BlackBerry, because he likes physical keyboards, but he couldn’t get one. Instead, he has chosen to use a Toshiba smartphone that runs Google’s Android operating system and has a physical keyboard attached.

The phone that Miyamoto carries may be the Toshiba Regza (or T-01C). Being an Android phone, there are certainly games available for it. It boggles the mind that Nintendo’s chief game architect could carry a device capable of playing games and not use that part of its functionality. Or worse, that he’s in denial of the opportunity for Nintendo on such devices.

Mind you, these devices have physical inputs and touchscreens that are much like the ones on the 3DS. Smartphones and tablets do deliver physical game experiences and, moreover, it’s the software running on them that makes those experiences special. Shigeru Miyamoto, of all people, knows that.

Nintendo Game Chief Sees Better Times Ahead [The Wall Street Journal]


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